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I imagine Hinson is a pariah in his workplace, but he brought every bit of it on himself.
Perhaps the "hostile environment" occurs when good, law-abiding officers see how Hinson has been allowed to get away with things for which others would have been fired unless they, also, had the race-baiting black leaders extorting the PD in their behalf.

Whoa, hold on, don't jump to conclusions! That threat was from an external source.

What I, and rest of Guilford County, would like to know is what that's been said in the Bledsoe series and in the RMA about Hinson is not true? I haven't heard anyone, including Lt. Hinson, offer any response to the many allegations. As much as 1/2 of the RMA report discussed Lt. Hinson, which doesn't seem to have anything to do with answering the question that they were hired to answer.

This whole episode has a very bad odor eminating from city hall. City government is falling all over itself trying to extracate itself from this abyss, but I expect it will eventually pull many of the characters down. Meanwhile, how safe are the citizens of Greensboro while the GPD is so obsessed with this drama that has lasted for years?

Oh, and tell Action Greensboro about the impact this has on potential companies relocating to Greensboro. Why would they want to come here when everything about this city and county government is a bad joke.

Sandy, will there ever be any conclusions - to jump to or otherwise? Is there still a hostile work environment in the GPD?

I know it's not your responsibility to answer these questions. But I hear council members say it's important to reach "closure." How?

Stormy,

I have to rely on the fact that three separate GPD investigations (one criminal, two administrative)by three different groups of GPD officers/retired officers into the allegations against Hinson cleared him. There is currently a "gag order" on all GPD officers that prevent them, including Hinson, from commenting on this case so that's why they are not speaking up.

Greensboro citizens are receiving a high, dependable level of police protection. As has been stated numerous times, the actual number of officers involved in this situation is very small. Only a small number are involved in conducting the current administrative investigation, now winding down. GPD officers continue to do their jobs. One example I would cite is that I did not receive any complaints about the police handling of traffic on High Point Road during A&T homecoming weekend this year -- usually a source of many, many calls.

I do agree that this is not the type of publicity we need when we are trying to attract new businesses, but it doesn't seem to be hurting us as they are still coming.

Doug,
Believe me, I'm patiently waiting for those conclusions as well!

Mitch Johnson informed all of us at the last press conference that the administrative investigation is winding down, and we are beginning to see administrative actions taken with some of the involved individual officers. That's one small part of reaching conclusions and closure.

The SBI has stated they hope to complete the criminal investigation by the end of the year, and I certainly hope that is the case. I'm relying on their work to provide the conclusions we are all eager to know and to bring closure to the major issues and allegations.

Of course, with all the potential lawsuits hovering around out there, the possibility of this issue being "front and center" for an extended period of time is very real.

I don't have any information beyond what was stated at Mr. Free's press conference to know if a hostile work environment currently exists within the GPD. I have not received any private complaints or heard "grapevine talk" about this even though I have some close contacts (my oldest son is a GPD officer). I'm relying on the work of Chief Bellamy and City Manager Mitch Johnson and their staffs to ferret out the issues and address them appropriately.

Bottom line, although it is not always visible, there is a lot of activity going on to try to find the facts and to address the issues that have been identified.

Ms. Carmany:

Thank you for your explanation above, however, it is not clear to me that when you say that Lt. Hinson has been cleared of three separate GPD investigations whether that fully addresses all of the allegations of his misbehavior, some of which are illegal and some that might be classified as unethical or inappropriate in a sworn officer. Can you bring some clarity for me and interested others as to what charges the three investigations "cleared" Lt. Hinson? The RMA Report seemed to raise more questions about Lt. Hinson's behavior than it answered, and more issues seem to be emerging in every installement of Cops in Black and White. This matter seems to be far from over, even though Lt. Hinson seems to badly want to find closure.

I understand that a small number of officers are involved in the investigation, but with something that has received this much publicity and speculation, how can the organization not be adversely affected? The atmosphere of the department has to be internally focused. I'm sure the majority of officers are continuing to do a fine job, but don't you think that this weighs heavily on their minds daily, knowing everyone in the city is looking at them? The manner in which everyone associated with this in the city government and council doesn't give citizens a warm and fuzzy feeling about it.

Stormy,

We councilmembers do not have access to those three investigations and their findings so I do not know which specific allegations were investigated. Since those investigations occurred over a 3-year period (2002-05) and the alleged incidents supposedly took place before or during that time, I would have to ASSUME they were all investigated. The investigation conducted by the Special Intelligence Unit would have addressed any possible criminal issues (breaking any laws), and the two administrative investigations conducted by Internal Affairs would have covered everything else (violation of departmental regulations and policies,etc.).

The RMA report did not investigate the allegations against Hinson, but was narrowly focused on the question "Did the police chief provide accurate information...regarding the suspension of Lt. Hinson, the discovery of the tracking device, and other related matters?

I have no doubt that the allegations and investigations is on the minds of our officers, and they probably feel they are being unfairly besmirched by the actions of a few. But I have no doubt whatsoever that those officers are continuing to perform their duties professionally and citizens are being protected.